Affordable Cremation Costs in Houston, Texas $895

Since 2012, DFS Memorials has helped families find affordable, dignified cremation through an established network of independent funeral homes and cremation providers in 42 states. Every partner is licensed, local to the community it serves, and committed to a clear price set before you commit.

In Houston and Harris County, our local partner provides a direct cremation for $895. A direct cremation has no viewing or ceremony beforehand, which leaves your family free to plan a memorial later, at your own pace.

What the $895 covers

• Collection of your loved one from the place of death, including hospitals, nursing homes, hospice and home
• Care and sheltering until the paperwork is complete
• Filing the death certificate and obtaining the cremation authorization
• A simple cremation container
• The cremation itself
• Return of the cremated remains to the family

What may cost extra

• Certified copies of the death certificate
• Collection from outside the provider’s service area
• An urn, if you want something other than the standard container for the ashes

Ask for the General Price List before you agree to anything. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, every funeral home must give you one, and the price you are quoted should match it.

How $895 compares in Houston

The typical local charge for a direct cremation in Houston is about $2,094, so families save around $1,200 for the same service. Houston has many funeral homes owned by national corporations, often under long-standing local names, so it is worth asking who owns a funeral home before you compare.

Our Houston partner is Lovestrong Cremations, which also serves Fort Bend County and the surrounding area.

The price applies across Houston, including Downtown, Midtown, Montrose, the Heights, the Third Ward, River Oaks, the Energy Corridor, Alief and Kingwood. It also covers nearby communities such as Pasadena, Katy and Sugar Land.

If a death occurs in a Houston hospital

Many Houston deaths happen in the Texas Medical Center, one of the largest medical complexes in the world. Hospital staff will ask which funeral home to call. Give them the name of your provider, and the release is arranged directly. Major hospitals include:

• Houston Methodist Hospital
• Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center
• Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center
• Ben Taub Hospital
• Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center

If a death occurs at home

If your loved one was under hospice care and the death was expected, call the hospice nurse first. The nurse confirms the death and then contacts the provider you have chosen. If the death at home was unexpected, call 911.

If your loved one is with the medical examiner

Sudden or unexplained deaths in Harris County are investigated by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, the county’s medical examiner. You can still choose your provider at any time, and the provider arranges the release directly once the medical examiner has finished.

What Texas law requires

• A 48-hour waiting period: Texas does not allow a cremation within 48 hours of the time of death on the death certificate. This is longer than most states, and it is the main reason a Texas cremation takes a few days.
• The wait can be waived: A justice of the peace or the medical examiner in the county where the death occurred can waive it in writing, and each office must publish how to ask, including at weekends. If you have a genuine reason to move faster, such as a religious requirement, tell your provider early.
• Who signs the authorization: A written directive left by the person who died comes first, ahead of everyone else. Otherwise the spouse decides, then the adult children, and onward through the family.
• No embalming or casket needed: A direct cremation uses refrigeration and a simple rigid container. Pacemakers are removed before cremation for safety.

Veterans: Houston National Cemetery

Eligible veterans can be buried at Houston National Cemetery. The VA provides the burial space, the opening and closing, and a government headstone or marker at no cost, and cremated remains are accepted. A spouse or dependent may also qualify. Your provider can help you request the burial.

Holding a memorial after the cremation

Many Houston families choose cremation first and a memorial later, when relatives can travel. Buffalo Bayou Park, Hermann Park, a church or a family home can all make a fitting setting. For a lifelong fisherman or sailor, charter boats out of Galveston and Kemah can arrange a scattering at sea; federal rules ask that ashes be scattered at least three nautical miles from shore and that the EPA is notified within 30 days. Scattering on private land only needs the owner’s permission, and for public parks, check with the city first. See our guide to planning a memorial after cremation.

Compare nearby areas: Katy | Sugar Land | Harris County | Texas

To arrange a direct cremation in Houston, or to plan ahead, call (713) 309-6059.